What Does It Say?

Photo by John-Mark Smith: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pink-pencil-on-open-bible-page-and-pink-272337/

Proverbs 22:17–21

17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

18 for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.

19 That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you.

20 Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge,

21 to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Pr 22:17–21). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

I have a saying that I often use, and that is; “What does the Bible say?” No one seems to have an answer when I ask. This may be an American phenomenon, perhaps the Church in other Western countries as well, but it seems that Christians too often get their opinions from the world around them and not from the Bible.

Maybe it is in the way we read the Bible? To many people the Word of God is a collection of sayings by which to live their lives. And, as the Scripture above attests, it is, but it is more than that.

In the Casting Crowns song, The Word is Alive the following words are spoken:

The Bible was inscribed over a period of 2000 years
In times of war and in days of peace
By kings, physicians, tax collectors, farmers
Fishermen, singers and shepherds

The marvel is that a library so perfectly cohesive
Could have been produced by such a diverse crowd
Over a period of time which staggers the imagination
Jesus is its grand subject, our good is designed
And the glory of God is its end

Mark Hall, Steven Curtis Chapman; 2007 Primary Wave Brian (Chapman Sp Acct); Sparrow Song; Be Essential Songs; My Refuge Music

Do we get that God’s Word must be the source for our opinions? When we allow MSNBC, CNN, OANN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox news, AP, Reuters or the myriad of todays “Influencers” (take your pick) to determine what opinion we should take on social issues, we do an injustice to what God has provided for us.

This morning, I read an article on Challies.com. (Link at the bottom, I’m afraid people will go there and not come back here. 😊)

Tim didn’t write much of the article, he merely allowed Theodore Cuyler’s words to take precedence. For those who don’t know him; Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (January 10, 1822 – February 26, 1909) was an American Presbyterian minister and writer. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_L._Cuyler).

If the words of Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman above seem poetic to you then Cuyler’s are gonna knock your socks off. Here is the final paragraph:

Such is the wondrous volume which God has given to man, and which outweighs all the libraries on the globe. It contains many writings, yet is it but one book. It has many writers, yet it is all from one Author, the Almighty Spirit of God. The pure, white, spotless fleece hath throughout its connecting fibers; the fabric is divine in its origin, its unity, and its imperishable power and glory.

Link at the end

We must stop allowing the world to give us our opinions, God’s Word is “divine in its origin” the opinions of the world are not. People’s opinions change, for instance did you know that former President Clinton used MAGA long before former President Trump? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWHlLsUIG8E&ab_channel=GregChambers). The opinions of people who aren’t rooted in the Word will be one thing today and another tomorrow. A Christian who lets the world, these news networks or influencers, form their opinion is the double-minded person in James, who wrote:

James 1:5-8

           5       If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

           6       But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

           7       For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

           8       he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Jas 1:5–8). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

When we read the Word are we ever mindful that it is a cohesive whole, that it is complete and enough for every part of life? Wanna know what to think about social issues of today? How about immigration? Here is a taste; the Bible says to welcome the “sojourner,” but in Exodus chapter 12 it says that those sojourners are subject to the laws of their adopted country, see also Leviticus 24. Remember, circumcision was one of those laws when Exodus was written. No one is asking anything so drastic of those sojourners who wish to come here.

Lawbreakers should not be welcome in any society, on the other hand, perhaps immigration laws can be adjusted to make it easier for those who want to come here legally to make a better life for themselves and their families. It’s difficult to make the case that you are a law-abiding sojourner when your first act is to break the law of the country you want to call home.

Whatever the social issue, the answer is in the Word. We need to stop looking to news commentators or the influencers of today for our opinions. Pop Culture is a moving target, and many of its followers eventually find that they have become the target.

Do you want to know what to think about any of the issues facing our country today? Ask God, it is in His Word.

Please be sure to subscribe before you click the promised Challies link: https://www.challies.com/articles/right-to-the-point/

Marching Down the Middle Lane of ‘Normalville’

I’m trying to avoid politics, I really am, but sometimes you see something that is absolutely meme worthy and deserving of comment. The title above is a quote from Rachel Maddow, who on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in an edition of “American Autocracy” told Nicole Wallace that “the Democratic Party is marching down the middle lane of ‘Normalville.’” (https://shorturl.at/fnANO)

I dunno, maybe I just don’t know what is or is not considered normal. I thought I should look up the word “normal” in a dictionary:

normal

nôr′məl

adjective

  1. Conforming with, adhering to, or constituting a norm, standard, pattern, level, or type; typical.
  2. Functioning or occurring in a natural way; lacking observable abnormalities or deficiencies.
From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

I almost don’t know what to say. Which of the images in my picture above are “normal” as is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary?

I would hope that I would get my idea of normal from the Bible. First, I want to remember to pray for each of these people, they need the saving power of Jesus Christ. I was not too far gone for Christ to rescue me, and they are not either.

Ms. Maddow also said, “…said the Republican Party is trying to “get rid of” democracy by embracing Donald Trump as its presumptive presidential nominee…” (also https://shorturl.at/fnANO). Donald Trump was in office for four years, when did he ask Congress to abolish democracy? I would also like to point out that, unless she lives in a different country, she lives in a Constitutional Republic. Since she believes that her party is in “Normalville” perhaps “Normalville” is a democracy. She knows this is a Constitutional Republic, anyone who went to elementary school in the United States in the last century can probably recite that knowledge from memory. It is contained in the flag salute. Let’s try, Ms. Maddow, shall we?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands.

This brings me to the nonsense about the term “Christian Nationalism” that is being bandied about. It is just that, nonsense. Fear mongering. Even though I am being told that I must accept the delusions of a male swimmer that says he is a woman, I won’t try to force anyone to accept my ideals.

Accepting their belief that they are a different gender than the gender God gave them is not the loving thing to do, it could give them the impression that they are OK with God. God loves people “just as they are” but that doesn’t mean that He wants them to remain that way (Hebrews 5:11-14).

God created us, God doesn’t make mistakes. He also created biology, which is a science in case anyone wonders. Christians have been called anti-science over their creationist views, yet leftists want to throw science out completely. Biology says we are either XX or XY chromosome. XX means you were born female, XY means you were born male. Again, God doesn’t make mistakes!

Martina Navratilova, who isn’t exactly a right-wing conservative, has been cancelled by many on the left, people who once adored her. She has said on X (formerly Twitter), “And I will keep saying this as (sic) nauseum until the rules change- women’s sports are not a place for failed male athletes.”

Perhaps it is me that is not normal. All I am asking of either political party is that they give me a pro-life candidate for whom I can vote that doesn’t make me squirm as I color in the oval on my ballot. Again, I am not wanting to remove anyone’s “right to choose,” I just believe that the baby has rights as well, perhaps we should wait until he or she is old enough to choose.

So, the question I need to ask is, “What does the Bible say?”

On transgenderism, I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but here are a couple of verses that came to my mind:

Deuteronomy 22:5

5 “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Dt 22:5). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Leviticus 18:22

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Le 18:22). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

I mention these Scripture references not to say a trans person needs to conform to them. Unlike the beliefs of many on the left, Christians don’t do that, the left will say that we do, but it is not what we do. I mention this because I cannot conform to their view of “Normalville.” As I said earlier, that is not the loving thing to do.

Kevin DeYoung, in an excellent article on The Gospel Coalition which you should read, after you finish this and Subscribe to my blog, of course 😁. DeYoung says:

“In short, the Bible teaches that God made us male or female, and no matter our own feelings or confusion, we should act in accordance with the biological reality of God’s good design. Transgenderism falls short of the glory of God and is not the way to walk in obedience to Christ.”

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/what-does-the-bible-say-about-transgenderism/

Again, I want to remember to pray for all people. As I wrote in my novel The Conversion Factor, their greatest need isn’t my unconditional acceptance of them. Their greatest need is Christ. So, am I placing a stumbling stone between them and God by an unconditional acceptance of their belief that they are not the people that God has created them to be? I would never dream of forcing any of these people to believe as I do, but neither can I accept their delusion as “Normalville.”

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Remember Lot’s Wife

The top of the home page of the website for Mount Lassen Community Church that I am designing457

I stood in church yesterday giving announcements and telling people about the new Church App and Church Website that I am working on; 64 years old and I am the tech guy; I am an OK Boomer after all. During those announcements I told our Pastor, Todd DuBord, that we don’t want him to return.

Perhaps some explanation is in order. Our pastor is retiring from pastoral ministry, his last Sunday will be Easter Sunday. He feels a calling elsewhere — he just doesn’t know what this calling is or where this calling is going to take him. I imagine that it is a frightening prospect for him; the not knowing. If I recall correctly, except for a seven- or eight-year period, he has been a pastor since achieving his Master of Divinity degree in the 1980’s.

Part of me envies this call on his life, and part (most of me, if I’m being honest) is glad that I don’t have the same call.

When he first told me that he was retiring and that he feels that God wants him elsewhere, my first thought was the words of Jesus in Matthew, “Remember Lot’s wife.” This was an incorrect assumption on my part, that is a Scripture about eschatology, or the end times. The actual Scripture that fits the situation is in Luke:

Luke 9:61–62

61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”

62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 9:61–62). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

We at Mount Lassen Community Church (MLCC) want his new ministry to be fruitful. We will be praying for him and his new ministry, but if he looks back it may have a detrimental effect on both MLCC and Todd DuBord.

I’m also gonna miss the guy, a lot. I hope he is around regularly, visiting and encouraging those of us who remain at MLCC. We will have a very large void to fill, but allowing a window for his return could cause his ministry to falter, and possibly cause the ministry of MLCC to falter as well. That could be disastrous for both. Matthew Henry writes this about it:

Those who begin with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back, leads to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. He only that endures to the end shall be saved.

Henry, M., & Scott, T. (1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Lk 9:57). Logos Research Systems.

It is going to be emotional for me as the time draws near, he and I have worked closely for a decade. He sometimes thinks I am a magician. He has asked things like; “Can you add subtitles to this video?” or, “Can you remove part of this video?” or, “Make a video fit a song.” I’m an OK Boomer, so, yes, I can, because God has gifted me with a desire to learn this techy stuff.

I don’t know what a new pastor may want, but as long as I use those gifts that God has given me to for His purposes I will be in the place He has for me. Even if that place is telling our pastor not to return.

A Davinci Resolve Tutorial

I thought I would “up my game” as non-boomers would say. Here is a video I created that is a tutorial for using Davinci Resolve to create a countdown video. This would be of interest to nerds like myself who do multimedia for church. It was a lot of fun to make, but quite time consuming. I was not able to write an article this week but may write 500 words or so for my Freeform Writing page tomorrow.

Having a “face for radio,” I waffled back and forth for a while whether I would put my image in the intro, in the end I realized that it reflected what my blog, An OK Boomer was about. I’m 64 years old so I shouldn’t be a techy guy, but I am.

Lastly, please be kind, it was my first attempt.

Who Am I?

With great thanks to Mark Hall and Casting Crowns.

This year I will celebrate my thirtieth anniversary as a Christian. On May 5, 1994, God powerfully opened my eyes, and I haven’t been the same since. This is not to say that the old me doesn’t force his way to the surface occasionally, but I am a different person than I was back then. I plan to tell the story as May 5th comes closer and may give that testimony in church around that time, so this is a story for another time.

Five years later I first heard the song, “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns, the song made me fall to my knees praising God for what He has done.

I was in the shower this morning, praying and reflecting on His Word (God likes multitaskers, doesn’t He?) and the same thing kept rising past the prayers; how will I vote next November?

What?!?!

I should preface this with this; I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of former President Donald J. Trump. I believe he has an inflated view of his self-worth. Which brought the Casting Crowns song to mind:

Not because of who I am.

But because of what You’ve done

Not because of what I’ve done

But because of Who You are!

I sometimes feel that President Trump would believe that he deserves heaven on his accolades alone. That he is greater than anyone else. I could be wrong, but I’ll have more on this in a few paragraphs.

I’m still gonna vote for him.

Before God changed my heart, I was a far left, progressive, liberal. To me, in those days, killing babies in the womb was a perfectly acceptable form of birth control. A friend once told me that she was pregnant. Her boyfriend didn’t want anything to do with any baby, so I told my friend, “You don’t need that in your life, you should just have an abortion.”

Thankfully she didn’t and, three years and forty-nine days before God changed my heart, one of the greatest blessings of my life was born. I love her like my own daughter. God was working on me then. Through her, He showed me that abortion takes a life. On the first day that I held her and looked into her eyes, I realized that I had advocated for her death, I will forever feel shame for my words to her mom. The Bible is explicit that we are people when in the womb, Psalm 138.

From that time on I began to realize that the worldview I had adopted was corrupt. Any politician who supported abortion rights was either too naïve for public office or they were evil and therefore should be disqualified from public office.

How can I say the above? If they don’t believe that a child is killed by an abortion that means that they believe the lies of the abortion industry, anyone that easily deceived shouldn’t be elected. Even Planned Parenthood knows it is a child. Until recently one page of their website said that abortion is no more than the removal of a growth, like having a wart removed. On a different page they call it the “most difficult decision a woman can make.” Why is removing a wart a difficult decision?

The only other choice is that they are evil. Many Congressional districts and states lean left and supporting life in the womb would ruin a candidate’s chances of election. If they choose to support abortion rights because it is politically expedient, they are evil. Whether evil or easily deceived they should not be eligible for public office.

I haven’t voted for anyone who is pro-abortion since.

Fascism is as Fascism Does

I believe that fascists have been moving into as many roles in government as possible. That is always the way fascism has gotten a foothold. They start small, they have no choice, to them we are like a frog in a kettle, as they slowly work on placing people in positions of power. Then the mobs come and denounce anything that opposes their “orthodoxy.” Anybody out there been “Cancelled?” They become the Thought Police.

Slowly they do everything they can to silence any dissent. They use, or misuse, language to their advantage, changing the meaning of words. Until they come to the point where they have placed enough people in the alphabets, FBI, CIA, DOJ. At that point they can have a different level of justice which depends on the position an offender has taken regarding their orthodoxy. If you are on the “right” side, you get away with things. If not, well, read on.

Which brings me back to Former President Trump. No, I am not declaring him a fascist. The progressive left, misusing language, call him an insurrectionist, their followers run with it and use the label freely. The problem I have is that he has not been convicted of insurrection; assuming my recollection of civics classes is correct, people are innocent until proven guilty. He hasn’t even been charged with insurrection. I say, “If you want to call someone an insurrectionist, then charge and convict him, otherwise he is not an insurrectionist.” But fascism is as fascism does.

Recently Mr. Trump was in court in New York. He was accused of fraud because he inflated the value of property that he used as collateral for loans. The bankers testified that they did their own appraisals, that the loans were repaid on time, and that they made money on the deals. New York Attorney General Leticia James filed suit against Donald Trump for fraud. Judge Anthony Engoron fined Mr. Trump more than $350 million, plus interest, it could go over $500 million by the time he comes up with the money to place the bond that would be necessary for him to appeal the judgement. Mr. Engoron even smirked for the cameras afterwards.

Mr. Engoron and Ms. James have effectively become the thought police. As I said above, I believe Mr. Trump has an inflated view of his self-worth. That would naturally extend to anything he owned, after all he wouldn’t have purchased anything that wasn’t worthy of him. It is entirely probably that he believed that those properties were as valuable as he said. His actions over the last thirty years make my assumption very likely, even probable. Yet, Mr. Engoron and Ms. James somehow know that he intentionally inflated the values of those properties – thought police.

A few days after the judgement, New York Governor Kathy Hochul made a statement that businesspeople in New York need not worry that the same will happen to them, because – reasons. Of course, businesspeople in New York should be worried, this judgement set a legal precedent. To translate Ms. Hochul, “as long as you are on the right side of orthodoxy, you have nothing to fear.”

I would hope that we would all pray for our government, that they should all come to a belief in the saving power of Jesus Christ. There is corruption on both sides of Congress and unless God’s people pray for those in power, things probably won’t be improving any time soon.

1 Timothy 2:1–2 (ESV)

1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Converting a Photo to Video

As an OK Boomer, I recently I wondered if I could take a photograph with a river and make it look like as though it was moving. My first attempt is the top video which I incorporated in in the countdown that is below the first video. I had to erase the sky and replace the clouds there and I added “fast noise” to a couple spots of the water to see if I could get a realistic water motion. Watch the first, it changes to the “live” video at the 5 second mark.

I DO NOT own the rights to the photograph.

Hello It’s Me

Hello, It’s Me

By Steven Stoops, January 31, 2024

With Apologies to Todd Rundgren.

I placed this into the incorrect spot when I put it onto my site, so here it is in the correct place:

Wow, it has been 158 weeks since my last post here on An OK Boomer. No one asked if I was OK, so I may not be reaching anyone. I may have become discouraged; you can see why. But I realized that I am not doing this for anyone. I would hope that God would be pleased, and perhaps He may be; if I remember to keep my rants and raves to a minimum and write to His glory.

On New Years Eve at church, we held a prayer service. We nailed prayer requests to a cross and each will be prayed for in 2024 by a team of people who could best be described as Prayer Warriors. My prayer was, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” At the time I was dealing with camera angles, so the people watching the church live stream could get a sense of the reverence that was filling the room, so I handed my request to an Elder and after asking him to take it to the cross I said, “I figured if it was good enough for David.”

You may ask, “What has happened since your last post?” 

A lot. We were still dealing with COVID in 2021, which meant that we could not hold in person church services, I still could not find many of the supplies we needed at the hospital. It also meant that my wife and I had to take a COVID test so we could visit our daughter in the hospital in June when she had our first grandchild. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life.

Five weeks later the Dixie Fire (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Fire see the map above, all the red is where the fire burned pretty much everything in its path) was getting close to our town and we had to evacuate. We drove two vehicles containing anything that was irreplaceable northeast from town, then west, then south and east again to Chico, CA. Usually a drive of of one and a half hours, it took four because the more direct route was through the fire. We finally arrived with three adults, a five-week-old baby, two large dogs and a cat at our son’s and his wife’s two plus bedroom townhouse. We were there for six weeks.

Our son and his wife had lost everything in the Camp Fire in 2018, they had only been seeing each other for a few months at the time, but his home, her family’s home, her aunt’s homes (two aunts and their families) and her grandparents on both sides lost homes. They may have been dealing with some PTSD as they hosted us (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018).

Thankfully, our homes survived, about all that happened to our home was a bear knocked down part of our fence trying to get to the garbage that hadn’t been hauled away. Many other people were not so blessed, most of the nearby town of Greenville was leveled and people we knew lost everything in the fire. One such couple had lost their business in the Camp Fire, then lost their home in the Dixie Fire. Makes you wonder if there truly is a “forever home” on this side of Heaven.

I take great comfort in the Word, and am reminded in the “Faith Chapter” Hebrews eleven that Abraham “was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (ESV) No “forever home” on this earth is a true forever home. God has led me to write a novel, and this blog, if His purpose was merely so I could draw closer to Him and no one but He and I see it, then so be it.

Hebrews 11:8–10

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Next week, I will be sharing the covers that I designed using Leonardo.AI for my novel The Conversion Factor. Perhaps, if someone other than the Lord and I see this, you can let me know what you think.

Sunrise in Chester, CA

I got the sunrise in the countdown below when in our local supermarket’s parking lot. I did not increase the color saturation, the colors you see at the end were the colors my phone’s camera captured. I am constantly amazed by the beauty of God’s creation!

Books, Books and More Books

Well, as promised I am putting out my possible book covers. These book covers would only be IF I cannot find a traditional publisher. Let me know which you think would be best.

The image on the book on the left was created with Leonardo.AI, the image on the book on the right was created using Goggle’s ImageFX. Let me know in the comments form

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